The horrific catalogue of injuries that killed Michelle Rosser whose partner Simon Winstone is accused of beating her to death

Michelle Rosser was a longstanding victim of domestic violence at the hands of Simon Winstone which culminated in the "brutal and sustained" assault that killed her, the prosecution told Merthyr Crown Court

A man ferociously fatally beat his partner to death and then told paramedics her injuries were friction burns caused when they had sex on the carpet, a court heard.

Simon Winstone is accused of murdering Michelle Denise Rosser at her home in Bedlinog, Merthyr Tydfil, at the culmination of a campaign of domestic violence.

The 50-year-old had earlier been heard by a neighbour to shout at her, "come back in now you f***** c***, if you don't I'll wring your neck."

Ms Rosser, 38, had suffered catastrophic internal and external injuries and was found dead on a sofa covered in a sleeping bag.

A post-mortem examination found that she had a ruptured kidney, bruising to the brain, a fractured skull, 28 rib fractures, bruising to her heart and lungs and multiple bruises and grazes to her face, neck, back, skull, arms, legs and torso.

Opening the prosecution case at Merthyr Crown Court, Michael Jones said that the defendant's evidence was that he was asleep on the sofa at the time she was murdered.

He said that the victim suffered frequent physical violence at the hands of the defendant which she used to say had been caused by falling down the stairs or tripping over the dog.

He told the jury: “It’s the prosecution’s case that Denise Rosser’s death was the consequence of a brutal and sustained assault by this defendant.

“It was the culmination of the violence she had been subjected to by this defendant during their relationship.

“To avoid responsibility, the defendant will attempt to deflect your attention by attacking her character, saying she could have fallen down the stairs or that a random person attacked her in the very room where he slept.

“He’s responsible for inflicting those appalling and fatal injuries and is therefore guilty of her murder.”

Winstone, of Brecon Road, Merthyr Tydfil, who appeared in the dock on Tuesday wearing a grey tracksuit, denies murder.

Merthyr Crown Court (Image: South Wales Echo)

The court heard he went to a neighbour's house on May 29 this year and said he had found Ms Rosser dead at the bottom of the stairs.

Paramedics attended and formally pronounced Ms Rosser dead. When asked about the facial injuries, the defendant said: “They’re friction burns off the carpet from where we were having sex last night”.

The court heard that Winstone and Ms Rosser had been in a relationship since 2012 and lived in Ms Rosser’s terraced house on Lewis Street she had inherited following the death of her mother in 2002.

Mr Jones continued: “Their relationship and their lifestyle was a turbulent one and was blighted by heavy drinking and living in a cluttered and disordered home."

Ms Rosser’s step-mum Wendy Rosser said she would drink the cheapest cider she could find. She described her as a binge drinker.

Ms Rosser lost her sight in her right eye after being attacked with a hammer around nine years ago.

After meeting the defendant, Ms Rosser was described by her family as being unclean and begging for money from neighbours and others in the local area.

Wendy Rosser said the victim never seemed to have money when she was with the defendant and her life was “spiralling out of control”.

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Ms Rosser defended the defendant against accusations that he assaulted her and would not have a bad word said against him.

Family members and neighbours would frequently describe seeing Ms Rosser with black eyes and a swollen lip, which she would blame on falling down the stairs or falling over the dog.

On one occasion, a neighbour called the police on Winstone after he was seen picking Ms Rosser up and throwing her out of her home as well as throwing a raw potato at her head.

On the day before Ms Rosser’s death, her neighbour Chloe McNally saw and heard the defendant and Ms Rosser arguing and swearing at 1pm.

Ms Rosser was outside the steps of the property and a few minutes later the defendant slammed the door on her and locked her out.

At 5.30pm Ms McNally was in the rear garden with her partner and two children and she could hear Ms Rosser and Winstone clearly arguing and using graphic words.

Ms Rosser was heard saying: “Ow, get off me” more than once. At 7.30pm, Ms Rosser was seen to come out of her house and said “shut up, you’re doing my f****** head in."

Ms McNally said Ms Rosser was talking to the defendant and he slammed the door shut. She said she looked drunk and went across the street and knocked the door opposite.

She saw Ms Rosser’s eyes were swollen and the injuries looked fresh. She was walking in pain and was clutching the right side of her torso.

The defendant was then seen opening the door and pushed Ms Rosser hard causing her to fall into the bins.

He went back in and slammed the door behind him.McNally saw Ms Rosser crawl to her doorstep and sit there. Five minutes later the defendant came out and said “come back in now you f****** c***, if you don’t I’ll ring your neck”.

Later on she could hear Denise screaming “ow get off me”. At 10.30pm, she heard nothing more from the house and no more from the defendant or Ms Rosser.

She said normally when they started arguing they would be “at it all night”. The following morning, at about 6.20am, neighbour Martin Jones was woken by the defendant kicking his back door.

The defendant said “she’s gone, she’s gone”. Mr Jones opened the door and asked Winstone if Ms Rosser had left and he said “no, she’s dead”.

Mr Jones dialled 999 and when he asked the defendant what had happened, he said: “I woke up and she was at the bottom of the stairs, I tried to shake her but there was no response. She was blue in the face, I have been cuddling her for an hour.”

Winstone told the operator: “My missus was half way across the floor, she’s not awake. Come soon and get her, hurry up.”

Two officers were sent to the property and were met by the defendant as he walked down the road to his house. Inside the premises they found Ms Rosser lying under a sleeping bag. She was dead had several facial injuries and cuts to the right hand side of her head.

The defendant said, “They’re from her, I have got them all over me, I woke up and she was there”, pointing in the direction of the stairs.

The court heard that Winstone became aggressive and agitated, and was removed from the address and placed in handcuffs. He was later arrested on suspicion of murder.

Before his police interview, Winstone handed a statement to officers.

He said: “I deny being responsible for the murder of Denise Rosser, I accept we were involved in a verbal altercation on May 28 where we were arguing but things calmed down and I fell asleep at 10pm and woke at 6am.

“At that stage Denise was not in the living room so I called her and no one answered. I went to go upstairs to the toilet and found her on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

"I carried her to the sofa and tried to wake her but when I couldn’t, I went to Martin Jones for help as I did not have a phone”.

Officers asked him what happened and how she came to have those injuries but he replied “no comment”.

In another statement he said: “I wish to say the last time I saw her was before I fell asleep, and she was alive and awake”.

In a last statement, he said: “The front door is not locked, the lock has been removed. I deny using a bottle of bleach on May 28/29, as far as I’m concerned there was no bleach in that bottle. Blood on the sleeping bag is from a previous injury of Denise Rosser."

A post-mortem carried out on Ms Rosser’s body found the multiple injuries were not consistent with her falling down the stairs.

Cause of death was giving as a cardiac haemorrhage and collapsed lung due to a blunt force injury to her chest, belly and head.